The present inventive concept relates to memory devices and, more particularly, to magnetic memory devices and to methods of forming such devices.
As the demand for electronic devices that have fast operating speeds and low power consumption increases, there is a need for memory devices for these electronic devices that perform fast read/write operations and operate at a low operating voltage. Magnetic memory devices have been studied as a memory devices that may satisfy these requirements.
Generally, magnetic memory devices may include a magnetic tunnel junction pattern. The magnetic tunnel junction pattern is formed from two magnetic substances and an insulating layer that is interposed therebetween. A resistance of the magnetic tunnel junction pattern changes based on the magnetization directions of the two magnetic substances. More specifically, when the magnetization directions of the two magnetic substances are anti-parallel to each other, the magnetic tunnel junction pattern has a high resistance value, while when the magnetization directions of the two magnetic substances are parallel to each other, the magnetic tunnel junction pattern has a smaller resistance value. These resistance values can be used to represent data, and thus data can be stored in a magnetic memory cell by programming the cell to have the appropriate resistance value.